Honoring My Teacher Buddies!!!

May 2nd through May 6th is Teacher Appreciation Week!!  Do you know a special teacher or remember a special teacher you had?  If so, this week would be a great time to let them know you are thinking about them!!

To all my teacher buddies....thank you for all you do each and every day for the children.  Thank you for the countless hours you spend setting up your classrooms to make them a wonderful, safe environment for each child.  Thank you for the countless hours you spend planning lessons, checking papers, looking for resources to enhance each child's learning, talking with parents, attending school functions, working on committees and attending committee meetings and so much more!  Thank you for committing yourself to the task of making sure each piece of the puzzle begins to fit for each child.  Thank you for choosing to be an educator and helping our children.  You are all "heroes" and I am blessed to know each one of you!  I appreciate all you do and the time you invest in the teaching profession!!!

To all the teaching "heroes" I know:

Even though this is a week designated for you....I appreciate you each and every day!



Look What I Found!!!

This week I shared some information with a few of my teacher buddies about companies currently having sweepstake entries for schools.  That got me thinking....wonder if there are any other education sweepstakes or grants out there right now??  So I did a little research and found a few companies currently accepting entries or grant proposals!!!  With funding for education always on the "chopping block", I've found it never hurts to enter or apply for any of these.  Donors Choose is a perfect example and my teacher buddies have all been extremely successful with their proposals!!  Hope some of you decide to check these sites out...let me know how it goes!!!

Discovery Education Technology:  http://www.sweepstakeslovers.com/sweepstakes/?p=cdwg.discoveryeducation.com/wawl/

Target Grant/Reading:  http://sites.target.com/site/en/company/page.jsp?contentId=WCMP04-031821#

Target Grant/Arts& Culture:  http://sites.target.com/site/en/company/page.jsp?contentId=WCMP04-031819

Verizon Education/Literacy:  http://foundation.verizon.com/grant/guidelines.shtml

Bright Ideas:  http://www.ncbrightideas.com/Home.aspx

Digital Wish (similar to Donors Choose but Technology Oriented):  http://www.digitalwish.com/dw/digitalwish/grant_awards

Special Needs Teachers:  http://www.mossfoundation.org/mossfoundation.org/paged708.html?id=3

While searching for grant and sweepstakes opportunities, I also found a few sites offering free lesson plans.  Perhaps you will find some resources on these sites for use with your students or fellow teachers!!

Verizon Site for Free Lesson Plans:  http://www.thinkfinity.org/

Technology Blog with Free Resources for Teachers:  http://www.freetech4teachers.com

Read All About It....

The Wall Street Journal announced this week Townsend Press is donating $1 million to Donors Choose!!  Donors Choose is an online charity which helps teachers raise funds for classroom projects.  Many of my teacher friends know about Donors Choose and have submitted project ideas over the past several years.  Townsend Press made this awesome donation to spur literacy projects and get books of interest into the hands of students.  So now's the time to get those literacy projects submitted!!  Parents can also help by letting their child's teacher know about Donors Choose or by making a donation (as little as $1 to a project).  Townsend Press will then double the donation!!  This is a great way to get books into the hands of children and promote literacy!!  If you want to know more about Donors Choose, go to www.donorschoose.org. 
To read the article about Townsend Press, go to:   http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703529004576160752239757540.html?mod=dist_smartbrief&mod=WSJ_latestheadlines#articleTabs%3Darticle

I also found out, by way of this article, about a new online site for teachers: BetterLesson.  This is a fairly new site which offers lesson plans and materials for free to teachers.  All you need to do is submit your email address and you have access to lesson plans.  Now what makes this site so interesting is everything is organized for easy access to units with complete lessons and materials.  It also provides educators an opportunity to network with other educators, share lessons, etc.  So check it out: www.betterlesson.org.

Grab Your Hat...

Okay, I know it's coming...Read Across America Day on March 2nd!!  I've done some research and wanted to share a few sites that will get your creative juices flowing!  Most people associate Read Across America Day with schools but it can also be celebrated in your homes with your children or even in your work place.  So...share your love of reading with someone and help build a "Nation of Readers"!  Grab your hat and Read with the Cat!

http://www.nea.org/readacross/
*Upcoming Target Store Event*: http://reading.target.com/read-across-america/ 
http://www.thevirtualvine.com/drseuss.html
http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/dr-seuss-birthday/
http://www.readingrockets.org/calendar/readacross

http://www.facebook.com/neareadacrossamerica#!/neareadacrossamerica?sk=wall

http://teach.fcps.net/trt4/Dr.Seuss.htm

http://www.education.com/seasonal/read-across-america/

Random Act Of Kindness

Do you know next week is "Random Acts of Kindness Week"?  Yep, it is and there's even a website which encourages people to take the Extreme Kindness Challenges they'll suggest next week.  Just go to: http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/ if you're interested in reading about it!  It's amazing what a small act of kindness can do for someone!

I know this to be true because yesterday I was touched with a "Random Act of Kindness" by a teacher friend.  Let me tell you, it was so unexpected!!.  I was at home working when the doorbell rang.  There at the door was a local florist.  In her hands she held a vase full of beautiful "spring" flowers.  Talk about shocked...

Anyway, I took the flowers and proceeded to the kitchen.  A card was attached, so I anxiously opened it to see who was so thoughtful to send me flowers.  Now please understand, my daughters send me flowers at various times and I am always touched at their thoughtfulness and kindness...so, of course, I was pretty sure the flowers were from them.  Nope..not this particular day.

As I opened the card, I read the note written by my teacher friend and it brought tears to my eyes.  She sent me flowers to congratulate me on my new phase of life.  This was such an unexpected gesture and I was so touched she would take time to send me flowers!!  She is not only a wonderful teacher but also a wonderful friend.  It was such an amazing "random act of kindness"!!!

So...thank you "Ms. Judy" for the wonderful "random act of kindness" you bestowed upon me!

100 Days

Each year classrooms love to celebrate 100 days of school.  Teaching the concept of 100 to young children in a concrete way is a challenge at times!  As I was reading a teacher's blog this week, I was reminded of this fun celebration.  She had such a variety of creative ideas to teach 100 to her students (First Graders)!!

I know around here it is close to the 100th day mark...not sure if it's passed just yet due to the winter weather we've had.  If not, then I hope my teacher friends find something they can use.  If 100 days have already come and gone, these ideas can be tucked away for next year.  So here's to 100 days of school!! 

(Oh by the way...if you have young children at home you can celebrate 100 days of the year; just mark off the 100th day on your calendar and enjoy some of these activities at home with your child!)

 

• Make a list of 100 words that the child could read, spell and write.
• Share a treat shaped like 100 (a Twinkie and two mini-donuts!)
• Make a 100 day hat requiring children to connect a train together counting by 10's to 100.
• Count to a music video from 1 to 100.
• Hide 100 chocolate Kisses around the room. Each Kiss had a number on the bottom. Students take turns finding the numbered Kisses and then match the numbers on a one hundreds chart. 
• Problem solve with your students to figure out how many Kisses each child could get so that every child had the same number.
• Cut and glue sequins to a pair of 100 shaped opera glasses!  (just add a straw so they can hold the glasses).     http://teachers.eusd.k12.ca.us/bbuchel/TeacherIdeas/100thDay/glasses.htm
• Dress up as if you were 100 years old. Students can also dress up!
• Watch a video of people from 1 year old to 100; children draw pictures of how they would look when they get to be 100! The gray hair, the glasses, the canes, and lots of speech bubbles -they may get old but they will still have lots to say!
• Investigate how many quarters, dimes and nickels it would take to make a dollar.
• Predict how many times they can write their names in 100 seconds and then write to see if they were correct.
• Hop for 100 seconds; jump for 100 seconds; and put heads down quietly for 100 seconds!
• Predict if they can lick a Tootsie Pop 100 times and get to the center of the lollipop. Of course they'll need to test their prediction to see if it's correct!
• Create a class list of 100 books you've read this year.